Shifting nodes of power : leadership within one-seat majority governments in Malta

Abstract

Power is an abstract notion which is embedded in human structures and relations. In politics, power is reflected through achieving and is subsequently executing authority in order to drive decisions and policies that affect the community. In parliamentary democracies such as Malta, power is delegated from people to the members of parliament through elections. Parliament is the legislative arm out of which the executive is selected from the party benches having garnered the majority of votes. Two specific legislatures, the 1996-1998 MLP administration and the 2008-2013 PN administration, offer scenarios where leadership has encountered internal conflicts, which given the one-seat majority context, has driven the governing party to lose parliamentary support. Leadership in one-seat majority governments has drawn wide attention to media and political commentators, yet it perhaps remains rather under-studied in the academic domain. The aim of this dissertation is to inquire upon the facts that emanate from these two specific legislatures that can furnish substantial theoretical underpinnings upon consideration within the frames of influential power theory such as presented by Steven Lukes and Michel Foucault coupled also with elements from game theory. The case-study analysis is supported by the use of a quantitative survey upon members of the electorate related to their delegation of power and elite interviews conducted with central figures from both legislatures. Commonalities and differences identified include detachment from presumed power structures, communication and involvement, escalation of dissent and styles of managing, possible cooperation and collusion, and the legitimisation of dissent for the greater good. Shifting nodes of power are evident in one-seat majority governments when different dimensions of power and theory are applied. This thesis also concludes by proposing further hypotheses to be explored such as the notions of collateral and powerlessness.